During a recent family gathering, the phone rang and intuitively each member of the immediate family knew who was on the line: our missing son and brother, Joe Driscoll.

We had not seen Joe since July when he left for his annual summer musical tour of England and live performances in other European cities. Since we have trouble reaching him by phone and email and, at times, must follow his travels on Facebook, the immediate question was “Joe, where are you?”

“Is Mom sitting down?” he asked and then responded that he was in Bahrain for three performances at JJ’s Irish Pub (Yes, an Irish Pub in Bahrain) and relaxing during the day at a deluxe beach club on the Persian Gulf.

His concern over his mother’s reaction was due to her prohibition against him performing in the Middle East because of potential unrest and violence.

As a performer, Joe has traveled extensively in Europe and Africa over the years. From the snowboarding championships in the Alps, memorial concerts in Belfast, island hopping from the Isles of Jersey and Guernsey to gigs in Barcelona, Austria — not to mention concerts in Johannesburg and Malawi in Africa — Joe has performed his Syracuse brand of “hip-hop” music to thousand of listeners the world over and hundreds more in Syracuse and throughout Central New York.

The obvious questions most people ask are was this international musical career planned and how do his parents and siblings feel about being related to a “rock star?”

Catch Joe Driscoll in Syracuse

Joe Driscoll plays two benefits this week while taking a hometown break from his international touring schedule:

Eastwood Neighborhood Association’s Mazella Court Fundraiser

When: 4:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Bull N’ Bear Pub, 125 E. Water St.

Cost: The event is free. Bartenders’ tips will be collected to benefit the development of a public basketball court at Eastwood Heights, to be named for former Henninger High School basketball coach Joseph “Maz” Mazella.

40 BeLOW-OUT New Year’s Eve Party.

When: 9 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Landmark Theatre, 362 South Salina St., Syracuse.

Cost: $90 per person. The event benefits 40 Below, a group dedicated to promoting Central New York for young professionals.

Anyone familiar with Joe growing up on the East Side of Syracuse knew he was going to be a performer. He started singing around 4 or 5 years old after viewing the “Jazz Singer” with Neil Diamond and was writing and performing his own music in middle school.

In addition, Joe took every opportunity to perform in school, in the community and singing in church, which certainly helped his confidence and stage appearance. It didn’t hurt either that his mother, Corinne, is a musician or that he grew up in a house surrounded by music, which is reflected in some of his recent songs.

As an aside, I remember Joe as a youngster taking guitar lessons but I never saw him playing the guitar. His mother and his music teacher kept telling me his fingers weren’t long enough for him to play, but Joe kept at it.

Eventually his fingers grew and he hasn’t put down the guitar since. He plays guitar along with five or six other instruments, including an Australian didgeridoo.

Of the four Driscoll children — Neil, Joe, Corey and Tracy — Joe’s career certainly enjoys the most notoriety, which his parents and siblings are all proud of and support, just as Joe is supportive of his siblings’ careers and dreams. We feel extremely lucky as a family that we all like one another and enjoy being together when the opportunity arises.

I believe all four of my children are talented but the trait I admire most in Joe is not his musical ability, but rather his courage to perform onstage even in a foreign country where English is not the primary language; also, his courage to leave home and the U.S to follow his dream to the live music scene in Europe. I didn’t believe he was going to Europe until his passport arrived in the mail and then he was off with his guitar and a dream.

Mike Greenlar/The Post-StandardJoe Driscoll, back in his hometown, plays in The Post-Standard studio.

Joe believes music is the international language and his career is witness to that belief. He will be leaving after the holidays for Marseilles in France where is working on a new recordings with an African drummer and plans to tour England to release the new music in the spring.

The drummer is from Guinea and speaks Susu and French, while Joe speaks mostly English with a smattering of French and Spanish. No common language, no translator, just communication through music.

I kid around that “I used to be somebody” having been a reporter, city, and school district official in Syracuse, but now I am simply Joe Driscoll’s father.

I don’t mind the moniker for any of my children but as a father, I know it will not be easy saying good-bye to Joe in just a few short weeks at Hancock as he leaves once again, and, as a family, we once again must ask, “Joe, where are you?”

Neil Driscoll is a former reporter for the Herald-Journal who also served as aide to former Mayor Tom Young and as a spokesman for the Syracuse City School District.